Friday, August 18, 2006

Syria to form its own Hizbullah

On the heels of what it views as a Hizbullah victory against the Jewish state, Syria is forming its own Hizbullah-like guerilla organization to fight Israel in hopes of "liberating" the Golan Heights, an official from Syrian President Bashar Assad's Ba'ath party told WorldNetDaily yesterday.The official, speaking on condition of anonymity, said Syria learned from Hizbullah's military campaign against Israel the past month that "fighting" is more effective than peace negotiations with regard to gaining territory.

He said Syria's new guerilla force would be trained by Hizbullah leaders.

"Syria is very serious about establishing this new guerilla force," the official said.

Hizbullah claims its goal is to liberate the Shebaa Farms, a small, 200-square-kilometer bloc situated between Syria, Lebanon and Israel. The Farms is the last post held by Israel after its withdrawal in 2000 from positions it took along the Lebanese border.

Most western analysts agree Hizbullah uses the pretext of the Shebaa Farms to maintain its weapons to start conflicts with the Jewish state. Hizbullah is sponsored by Syria and Iran.

The ceasefire resolution accepted by Israel earlier this week calls for negotiations leading to Israel's relinquishing of the Shebaa Farms.

'Hundreds of Syrian volunteers'

The Baath party official told WND the new Syrian "resistance" group is calling itself the Front for the Liberation of the Golan, and is already in the process of being formed. He said it seeks to ensure the return of the Golan Heights.

Israel captured the Heights, strategic mountainous territory, after Syria used the terrain to attack the Jewish state in 1967 and again in 1973. The Golan Heights borders Israel, Syria and Lebanon.

Israeli security officials said they had no information about the Front for the Liberation of the Golan.

The Ba'ath party official told WND the Front was formed last month and will attempt attacks against Israel.

The official said the group currently consists of "hundreds" of Syrian volunteers, many from the Syrian border with Turkey. He said Syria held registration for volunteers to join the Front in June.

The official said most Front members will be Palestinian and not members of the Syrian army.

"We know from history guerilla resistance works against Israel," said the official.

He pointed not only to Israel's most recent confrontation with Hizbullah, but also to what he said was a previous Syrian "victory" against the Israeli Defense Forces using guerilla tactics.

"After a ceasefire was imposed in 1973 (following the Yom Kippur War) for 100 days Syria led guerilla attacks against Israel in the Golan Heights and they were successful. The IDF withdrew nearly 100 kilometers from the original ceasefire lines."

Indeed, after Syria accepted a United Nations cease-fire in October 1973, it waged a sporadic guerilla campaign against Israeli troops in the Golan until a disengagement agreement was reached March 31, 1974, that saw Israel withdraw from some sections of the territory.